Family
by CastielAndTheBlueBox
Summary: Third in the 'Family' series. Clint and Darcy receive a surprise of their own.


_**A/N: Oops, another pregnancy fic. It ties in with my previous stories, 'It Wasn't Love' and 'I Will Love You To The End of My Days', though you don't have to read those. To give background, Clint and Darcy hooked up in the second story, while Natasha was giving birth to the daughter of she and Bruce. Jane is also pregnant, probably around two months, at that point in time. Set later on in Jane's pregnancy, probably around eight months, and therefore little Rebecca Banner is around six months old. **_

Darcy groaned. This couldn't be happening. They were always careful, and it really wasn't like yet another Avengers baby was needed in the Tower. Not to mention the fact they'd only been together a grand total of six months.

And yeah, it was great. She liked Clint, like, really liked him. He was funny, and he was always up for cuddles, and he let her stay even when he had his nightmares. And the sex, well, the sex was great.

So their relationship was absolutely fantastic. Not perfect, but great.

And yet, here she was sitting, in his bathroom, with a plus sign mocking her from it's place on the stick. She glared at it, as if that would somehow make it go away. But, lo and behold, it stayed.

There was an easy fix to it, she was reminded. But she didn't want to do that. She wasn't sure why, but she felt weirdly connected to the spawn in her womb.

But she was still sure that it couldn't be right. So, there was no harm in going to Bruce for a blood test, right?

* * *

When she got up to the lab, Bruce was holding Rebecca, her tiny hands reaching for equipment which he gently reminded her was 'not for touching, Becky'. She bit her lip and tapped him on the shoulder, and he jumped a little, but gave her a small smile when he saw it was just her.

"Darcy! Hi. What's up?" he asked, his voice a little tired, but he looked like he'd been getting a little more sleep over the last few months than he had before. The little girl in his arms gurgled slightly, her dark curls bouncing around her face, reaching towards Darcy. The young woman took the little girl from his arms, a little hesitant (because as cute as Rebecca was, with her own possible impending motherhood, it felt a bit... strange).

"I need a blood test. For pregnancy." she replied. Bruce blinked at her a couple of times, but just nodded, not feeling the need to comment on it. She liked that about Bruce; he wasn't nosy.

"I'll try my best, but I think sometimes you guys forget that I'm not actually a medical doctor." he replied, getting a needle and wiping it down, before finding a vein, carefully inserting the needle and taking some blood. He put it into the scanners and sat back in his seat.

"And now we wait. It should only be about twenty minutes, JARVIS is very efficient." he said, reaching for his daughter again, who giggled with delight, not catching the tension in the room. He began playing with her tiny fists, and glanced over at Darcy, a slight, but genuine, half smile on his face.

"Y'know, when Natasha told me I was gonna be a dad, I freaked out. I didn't want to show it, but inside? I was ready to pack my bags and head back to India." his face had grown more solemn, and he pulled his little girl up closer to his chest. "But, for this little girl? I'd go through it all again. She's perfect."

Darcy watched as the child grasped at his shirt, playing with the buttons, and let a small smile slip past. She could see Clint with a baby- had seen Clint with a baby- and she figured that he'd be a good dad. She knew pretty much nothing about milestones, but he knew plenty, informing her when Rebecca had sat up for the first time that it was okay for a kid to be sitting at her age.

When the beeping began on the machine, she glanced up, and the singular word there made her tremble with fear. Bruce placed a hand on her shoulder, his other arm full of his daughter.

"You'll be _fine. _Clint may be a little more obvious in his fear of fatherhood than me, but you'll both be fine." he said, before sighing, looking down at his own child._  
_

"C'mon, Becky. Let's go see mama, hm?" he said, voice soft, gentle, but not patronizing, as he took his daughter from the room, leaving Darcy alone with her thoughts and an AI informing her she was two months pregnant.

* * *

She didn't go straight to Clint. Even after Jane gave birth to Jorgen (and that had been a sight in itself- Jane high on the epidural Natasha had insisted she get), she didn't go to see Clint. She was three months before she managed to blurt it out to anyone (Bruce still being the only one who knew).

"I'm pregnant." she said, and Jane raised an eyebrow, smirked, and began to work on the next machine.

"I know." she replied, and Darcy's mouth dropped open.

"You- but- how?!" she asked, flailing slightly. Her boss, the woman who had eyes only for Thor, Jorgen, work and poptarts had noticed?

"Yeah. You were having the same signs I did when I was pregnant with Jorgen." she replied, and at Darcy's expression let out a small laugh. "Despite popular opinion, I do actually notice things."

Darcy continued to gape a little longer before Jane sighed.

"You are gonna have to tell Clint, y'know. You can't exactly just pop out the kid and scream 'surprise!'." she rolled her eyes, before they widened, and she mouthed 'oh shit'.

Frozen in the doorway, two coffees in hand, was her boyfriend. His eyes were wide, his mouth was open, and he'd tensed up completely. He stared at her, eyes flickering down to her stomach, before he dropped the drinks on the floor and _ran._

* * *

Darcy didn't see him for days after that.

Jane offered sympathetic smiles, but she was too tired to really offer words of comfort. Jorgen definitely got his voice from his father. Thor _had _given the somewhat tempting offer of castrating Clint, but Darcy figured that would be a bit harsh, if he did forgive her.

And so it continued. If there'd been any doubt what was wrong with Jane Foster's attractive assistant before... well. There wasn't any more. Even _Pepper Potts_ had noticed, and she'd reiterated time and time again that she never, _ever_ wanted kids.

When she did see him, it was by accident. She'd gone down to the gym, planning on doing some light exercise to clear her head, when she ran head first into Clint Barton. He coughed, and she swallowed.

"Darce. You, uh, sure you should be down here. With... y'know." he gestured vaguely to her stomach. She suppressed a groan.

"Our child?" she asked, tone clipped. He nodded, coughing again.

"Uh, yeah. That." he replied, eyes looking for a way out. It was so obvious.

"What the hell? You do realize you had a part in this? All I'm asking for is a bit of support!" she replied, volume raising. Clint raised his eyebrows, and his expression was so vulnerable, so kicked puppy, that she almost melted.

"Wait, you... you _want_ my support?" he asked, his hands going into his pockets. Darcy gaped for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, you idiot! God, did you think I was pissed off because you knocked me up? If that were the case, I wouldn't be pregnant right now." she replied, and his eyes lit up, though still wary.

"I won't be a good father." he mumbled, and she smiled.

"No. I think you'll be a great one." she replied.

"I didn't have the best example." he replied, eyes still downcast.

Oh.

_Oh._

"You're not like him. I highly doubt you'd lay a finger on me, and you know I'd kill you if you tried." she replied, placing a hand on his (mighty fine) bicep. He swallowed, looked up from the floor, and nodded.

"A baby, huh?" he asked, softly, and she nodded.

"A baby."

And maybe they hadn't been together long. And maybe they weren't ready. But they were sure as hell going to do the best to make their little family as safe and loving as they possibly could.


End file.
